


Family Talk

by Milo



Category: Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Family Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-15
Updated: 2015-04-15
Packaged: 2018-03-23 03:46:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3753313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milo/pseuds/Milo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Archie has a bold question to ask, and Maxie is entirely unprepared for it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family Talk

**Author's Note:**

> Technically, this is set in the same universe as Terraforming a while after the events of Pokemon Omega Ruby. But you can read it just fine as is. So there's that.

“What do ya think about havin’ a kid, Max?”

Archie’s sudden question made Maxie sputter and he nearly spat out a mouthful of coffee all over the newspaper in front of him. He stared at Archie with a startled expression. Judging by how Archie was looking at him, that wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. He gulped down the coffee in his mouth before saying anything.

“Wh…What?” Maxie said. Archie gave him an awkward smile and a little shrug with one shoulder. “You can’t say something like that and then do nothing but shrug at me, Archie.”

“It’s not like I told ya I was pregnant or anythin’. ” Archie said. “It was just somethin’ I was thinking about the other day. Ya can’t honestly tell me you’ve never given it any thought?”

There were countless things he’d seen himself as; a professional scientist publishing countless research articles in his field of study. A simple worker as Silph. Someone who would pave his way in the world, someone whom everyone would remember, something he would come to do later with the AZOTH project.

And yet Maxie had never pictured himself as the type to be tucking toddlers into bed, to be bouncing children on his knees, or even simply associating with children at all. The thought had never crossed his mind in all those years.

“No,” he said, “I can’t say I ever have.”

“Really? You’ve never even been curious about what might happen?” Archie said, eyebrows raised. “Never wondered if you’d settle down with a nice someone and raise a couple lil’ scamps of yer own?”

“I’ve been goal-oriented my entire life, Archie. You know this. And family has been something I never really…connected with, for that matter. So why would starting my own be on my mind?” he said, gripping the mug in his hands. 

Archie seemed to have forgotten about that. He glanced away from Maxie off at something on the wall to his right, looking rather awkward. Maxie decided to try and get back on topic.

“…That, and children are a huge commitment.” Maxie said. “One must be willing to invest time, money, be willing to drop everything at the last moment–It’s a lifetime thing. It’s not like bringing another Poochyena into the house.”

“…Yeah.” Archie said. The thought seemed to stir up all kinds of fond feelings within him, as he was smiling a strange little smile. “Yeah. But it’s worth it, though. I think so.”

Archie looked back at him, that strange little smile still there. Archie had always been fond of children. He was quick to defend them, regardless of what happened, and was open to spending ungodly amounts of time together with them. He did seem to fit the bill for someone who would be the fatherly type.

Maxie didn’t, though. Not at all. That was that.

“…I…I cannot say I’d be a very good parental figure, what with my background in world destruction and all.” Maxie muttered, taking a sip of coffee.

Archie’s expression turned serious. “We both know ya didn’t mean for it ta go that far.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that it still happened. I almost caused the worst natural disaster in over one thousand years.” Maxie said. He rubbed at his forehead. “Imagine what kind of life our poor child would have to lead. Knowing that his father was that notorious ecoterrorist Maximilian Matsubusa, who is wanted by the police on nearly a dozen charges–theft, terrorism, violence, gang involvement–!”

“Max, cut it out–!”

Archie reached out to him across the table and took one of Maxie’s hands. Maxie stopped his babbling and simply gave Archie a hard look. “Yer bein’ too hard on yerself again.” Archie said. “Things all worked out for the best in the end. Hoenn’s still here, everyone’s okay. Nobody got hurt.” Maxie looked down. “Seriously, Max, ya might’ve done some messed up shit but what were ya doin’ it in the name of?”

“…Land expansion.”

“Try again.”

Maxie sighed. “Why does it even matter anymore? It didn’t work and I’m not going to try it ever again.”

“Ya were doin’ it for  _everyone in the world_  to live  _better lives_ , Max. Fer people.” Archie said confidently. “Ya told me once ya wanted to eventually make things better out in places like Orre, where people don’t have much. Maybe ya didn’t realize it then but ya were thinkin’ about the next generation too. How those kids would’ve been growin’ up.” Maxie didn’t say anything. Archie’s grin widened and he gave Maxie’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Seems like a pretty noble thing, if ya ask me.”

Maxie set his coffee aside and rested his head down on his free arm. Archie simply couldn’t help but look at the bright side of things regardless of the situation, could he?

“You think far too highly of me.”

“Comes with the whole ‘I love ya’ package. Get used to it.” Archie said. Maxie glanced up at him with a vaguely irritated look when he intertwined their fingers. 

“You’re a very stupid man, Archie. You ought to have gone looking for someone else in the time we were apart.”

“And give up on the best adventure ever? Nah.” Archie shook his head. “I knew what I was gettin’ into when I went for ya the first time and yer still worth the challenge.”

Maxie’s expression turned more serious.

“Even if I tell you I don’t want a child? It seems like something you’ve got your heart set on.”

Archie looked conflicted for a long moment. Then, he sighed and removed the bandanna from his head, scratching at the slowly graying hair underneath. 

“I’d be lyin’ to yer face if I said I wouldn’t be disappointed if ya said no. Honestly, it’s somethin’ I’ve wanted for a hell of a long time now.” he said. “But, hey, this is just as much yer choice as it is mine. I can live with it.”

Now Maxie couldn’t look at Archie. What was wrong with this stupid, stupid man? Was he really ready to give up something he’d wanted for ages just because Maxie said no? Archie seemed so ready to do it–and yet was Maxie really worth it?

“…Cause, I mean,” Archie said suddenly, quietly, “if I’m not doin’ this with you, then I don’t want to do it.”

At that moment he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. He stared down at the table, at the intricate wooden carvings of fish and plants, at the scrapes and dents caused by what might have been dozens of different hands. Tiny hands, too. Perhaps if Archie got what he wanted a new set of hands might spill their drinks and rake forks across the surface.

Could they handle a child? Could  _he_  handle a child? Did they have the proper funds? It would be a third mouth to feed, a third body to clothe, they’d have to look into schooling, health, its future,  _college_ –It was too much to think about all at that one moment. He played with a strand of his hair that dangled out in front of his face. Would the child even  _like_  him? Maxie had no experience with babies. Or children. He was on good terms with the boy from the Cave of Origin incident, but that was it.

All of that, and on top of everything Maxie was going into his early forties. Archie would follow in another couple of years. They were rather old to be new parents, weren’t they? What if something happened to them, who would care for it in their place? Could they expect long time friends like Matt and Tabitha, Shelly and Courtney to take it in?

He sighed.

“…No pressure, huh.”

Archie chuckled. “Well, if it helps any, ya don’t have to decide on it today. Or tomorrow. Or even three months from now.” he said. “Just…think about it, alright? S’all I’m askin’. And if ya end up not wantin’ to do it, that’s okay too.”

Maxie attempted a small smile, but it was awkward. He felt awkward. Archie seemed to notice. He played with Maxie’s fingers some more. 

“Very well, Archie.” Maxie said. “I’ll think about your…idea.”

“Thanks, Max. That’s all I could ask for.”

With that, Archie unhooked their hands and stood up. As he left the kitchen, he brushed up against Maxie, who wasn’t looking at him. He steepled his fingers and looked at the chair where Archie had been sitting and out the adjacent window.

He vaguely wondered if facing Groudon again would be less frightening.

 

* * *

 

Time went by, and slowly but surely the question slipped out of Maxie’s mind in favor of more important things. It wasn’t until a month and a half after the fact that Maxie remembered what Archie had asked him to do. 

They were out in the store, as per their usual Sunday routine, picking up enough supplies to get them through the week, Pokemon included.

“We’re out of milk, right?” Maxie said, comparing two different brands of milk in his hands. “I know you’re more fond of the Johto brand, but it would be much cheaper to buy–” Maxie halted, looking back at Archie, who wasn’t looking at him. “Archie, are you listening?”

“Huh?” Archie perked up, as if he’d been distracted. “Yeah, uh, that sounds good, Max. Whatever you think is best.”

Maxie raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing. He put the off-brand Hoenn variant in the cart. “Right.” he said, staring off with the now too-heavy grocery cart. “We’ve got enough Pokemon food to last the week. There should be plenty of supplies for things like tempura, rice…ah, we might need more vegetables.” He pulled out the list, the ever-increasing list, from his pocket and looked it over. “Yes, we need some fresh carrots, potatoes–What was that other thing you were asking for at home?”

He turned. Archie wasn’t following him. He was still standing over on the other side of the aisle, seemingly staring off into space. Maxie rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling before he went to Archie’s side.

“What is with you today?” Maxie said, startling Archie. “It’s almost like you’re sleepwalking.”

“Oh, uh, sorry. Sorry Max.” Archie said scratching the back of his head. “Just got a little distracted I guess.”

“By what?”

Archie said nothing, opting to instead return to their cart. Maxie watched him go before looking off in the same direction Archie’s gaze had been fixed on. A woman was looking at canned soup. Two children were bouncing around at her feet, tugging at her pants, and a third was swinging her legs back and forth in the cart. She was looking right at Maxie, thumb in her mouth, blinking curiously.

Oh.

 _Oh_.

Maxie returned to Archie’s side.

“…When you set your mind to something, it’s not so easily forgotten, is it?” Archie looked at him funny, but said nothing. “I’m surprised you didn’t bring it up again after the fact.”

“Said I wasn’t gonna rush ya, Max. I meant it.” Archie said. “I’m more than willin’ to wait as long as it takes for ya to decide one way or the other.”

“For that I’m grateful. But if you’re going to have that sorry look on your face every time you see a family at the grocery store then clearly it’s not for the best, at least for you it’s not.” Maxie said.

Archie looked at him. He pushed the cart forward slowly and headed for their next destination. Maxie followed after him. “…I guess,” he said, finally, “I just want to know what yer thinkin’. Can’t tell if yer on one side or the other, and it’s really startin’ to get to me. Should I keep lookin’ into this? Should I stop?” He looked at Maxie. Ya know ya can just outright tell me no if this isn’t what ya want. I can take it.”

Maxie glanced back at their list, scanning it for what they needed to look for next. Talking about this in the grocery store was a bit awkward.

“…Admittedly, I haven’t given it much thought lately. I’ve been more focused on keeping us off the radar and making sure we have enough money to make ends meet. After you and I, we also have eight Pokemon to care for. And whatever leftover cash we have we generally send to what’s left of our conjoined team.”

“Oh. Yeah.”

Archie sighed. Maxie reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder.

“I’d really rather not talk about this while we’re in public,” he said, “but I’ll give it some more thought and get back to you soon, alright? Now stop looking so unhappy and help me pick out the rest of the things we need.”

This seemed to please Archie, as he visibly brightened up and seemed a bit more chipper than before. Shopping went smoother after that.

 

* * *

 

Maxie went into research mode after that. 

He looked into what resources there were, what funds they had, stayed up overnight to read and re-read books he’d picked up from their local library. After checking once, twice, three times, the answer seemed to be clear; if they tried, they could probably handle it. It would be a close call at times, but if they worked hard enough, picked up extra hours, perhaps Maxie could get a second job…it was do-able.

Getting into the fatherly mindset was the more difficult part, however. Numbers and estimates were one thing, the actual process was something different altogether. 

Realistically speaking, Archie would probably be the more dominant one in their life. He was the more prepared, in the right state of mind–more ready to drop everything to support their child. 

But where did Maxie fit into all of this? He was no good at comforting crying children with scraped knees, no good at knowing when and when not to interfere in troublesome issues, he didn’t know what little boys and girls needed.

Well, technically, he did. He had research to thank for that. But those were theoretical children in a handful of theoretical situations. If Maxie knew anything better than anyone else, it was that theory rarely matched the real thing. A real child would respond to him differently, no doubt. He would need to work on improving himself for sure.

With a face like thunder and an attitude to match, was he really a good fatherly candidate?

He sank into his desk, resting his face on the pages of an over-sized text book. Though he wasn’t so fond of remembering the similarities they had, his father wasn’t all too different from him. Engaged in his work, stressed constantly, disliking being bothered–Maxie was that way, too, wasn’t he? 

Would he tell Archie yes, only to find himself in the near future scowling at a toddler no older than three who had flushed his keys down the toilet? Or scolding a baby who had covered a wall with food? Would he yell and yell at their future child about how he knew what was best for them before they could even begin to wonder it themselves?

Maxie wanted to say no, that he wasn’t like that. But he couldn’t be sure he wasn’t. He’d been that way before, with Archie, with others. There was no telling if he’d change between now and when the child was born. He rubbed his eyes.

“Arceus.”

Why had Archie picked him, of all people?

 

* * *

 

Archie’s bedroom door had never looked so formidable in all of the time Maxie lived in the Arceus-forsaken household. He must have stood there for ten minutes thinking, rethinking, reformulating what he wanted to say before he finally took the initiative to knock.

“It’s open!” Archie called.

He hesitated, conflicted once again, before opening the door. It slowly swung open to reveal Archie, who had apparently cleaned the shelves of his childhood bedroom. His old toys had been rearranged, stuff that had been haphazardly places around the room was now neat and tidied. He was smiling at a tiny, dirtied Sharpedo plush he’d owned when he was a kid.

Maxie could have approached him, but he stayed where he was. He crossed his arms and leaned in the doorway. He scratched at his arm through the fabric of the sweater. It took him a bit, but Archie eventually looked at him, worry crossing his face.

“What’s up, Max?”

“…I’ve been thinking.” Maxie said. “I’ve done a lot of thinking, fact checking, running numbers, making precise calculations, reading…”

“Okay.” Archie said, dropping his arms to his side. “…And?”

“And…” Maxie sighed. “In theory we could handle it. If we reduce some of the funds we send to Team Terra, then we have just enough to care for a third mouth in this house. In theory.” Archie’s eyes shone with a new spark, something Maxie had never seen before. The pure determination, excitement, how he regained that simple smile–Maxie had to look away. “In theory everything should work out. But there’s still one problem.”

“Yeah? What’s the problem?”

Maxie huffed, still not looking at Archie.

“Me.”

The room went silent save for a fan in the back corner. Archie approached him. “…Are ya still conflicted?” he asked softly.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that you can handle this. Even if it was on your own, I’m sure you’d find a way to take care of things, make ends meet.” Maxie said. “But I don’t know about myself. Every time I think about it…I’m not all too different from him, am I? From my father. And we’ve seen how good his parenting was.”

“Max…”

“Could I really live with the decision if I knew I’d be the same way with our child as he was with me? Yelling, always yelling, always angry, stressed, never taking any time…” 

He put a hand to his forehead. Archie put his hands on his shoulders.

“Let’s get one thing straight here. Yer  _not_  yer dad, Max. Ya never have been, and ya never will be.”

“Archie–”

“I mean it. Yer not. The fact that yer thinkin’ about this right now? That’s proof in itself, y’know?” Maxie looked up at him, disbelievingly. “Thinkin’ and actin’ are two different things. Clearly ya know better, yer worried, and that says a lot to me. If it makes ya feel better, I think ya could do it.”

Maxie laughed despite himself. “That makes one of us.”

“I’m serious.” Archie said. “And you can still say no to me. Ya can still turn me down. I’m okay with that. If yer not ready, yer not ready. I’m  _not_  forcin’ ya into something yer not ready for.”

Maxie went quiet. Slowly, he moved to embrace Archie in a gentle hug, placing his head up against the taller man’s chest. He wished he knew what to do, what to say. He didn’t like being so conflicted. He didn’t like not having a straight answer one way or the other.

“I don’t know what to do.”

“That’s alright too.” Archie said. He trailed his fingers down Maxie’s back. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

Maxie wished that was true.

 

* * *

 

Until that moment, Maxie had never really realized how many foil stickers were on the underside of the top bunk in Archie’s old room. But then again, it wasn’t until that moment that he felt it necessary to lay down on the bottom bunk for a while. It was too hot in the rest of the house, too loud, too convoluted with other thoughts.

He counted five Carvanha, six Finneon, two Wailord, and four Sharpedo in a neat line of procession. They all shined in the light reflected in from the window and showed off the pattern of scales intricately within each one of them.

In his hands was that tiny Sharpedo plush from earlier, the one that Archie had been playing with. Its navy blue color had faded to a grayish blue, and its white underside was grayed. The flimsy teeth had frayed and they stuck out at odd angles.

They sold brand new ones at the Oceanic Museum. But this one was special. Maybe that’s why Maxie found himself looking at it.

His feet danged just over the end of the bunk, toes pointed into the air. It was abnormally cold in the room, and he vaguely wondered if it had always been cold, if Archie had been cold sleeping on his stickered bunk. He twirled the Sharpedo in his hands.

“What’re you doin’ in here?”

Archie peered in from the doorway, eyebrow raised. Maxie turned the Sharpedo from side to side, watching its eyes as they looked from one direction to the other.

“Just…thinking, I suppose.”

When Archie wandered in and sat down beside the bunk, Maxie looked at him. “See ya found ol’ Toothy.” Archie said. “He used to be my favorite. I even took the guy swimmin’ with me.”

Maxie looked at the Sharpedo head on. There were three suspicious food stains, and the thing did seem to have a faint salty odor. Like Archie had dropped it into the ocean for swimming practice and had forgotten about it for a while.

“I’m not surprised.”

They simply sat in each other’s company for a while, not bothered to say much of anything. The fan blew their way and Maxie tugged at his shirt, determined to fight off some of the sweat clinging to him.

He eyed the back of Archie’s head carefully before making a face. He set the Sharpedo plush down on his stomach and stared back up at the wooden frame above him.

“It’s strange to think about.” Maxie said. “There were thousands of different possibilities for me, I could have ended up anywhere, in any place, and yet I ended up here with you of all people.”

“Ya regret it?”

Maxie shook his head. “Not really. It could be worse.” he said. “For plenty of people, this isn’t such a bad ending. I’ve got a job, a house, for the most part things are stable.” He picked at a piece of stray fuzz on the Sharpedo’s dorsal fin.

“Mm. Yeah.”

The fan whirled around two or three more cycles.

“…Archie.”

“Hm?”

“You…did you really mean what you said?”

“’Course I did.”

Maxie closed his eyes. He lifted the Sharpedo plush over Archie and dropped it into his lap. He heard Archie shift around. He probably caught it.

“What would it even be like? The two of us with a child… _children_ , even…” he said. 

“We’ve practically got our own set of children already in Team Terra.” Archie added. “Only difference between them and our own kids…well, they’d be more like us, wouldn’t they? I guess it’d be like havin’ a little one of us around.”

Maxie tried to imagine a tinier Archie running rampant through the halls of their home, wreaking havoc, jumping furniture, playing rough with the Mightyenas. It wasn’t…entirely unpleasant. He imagined the little boy in the bandanna featured in numerous pictures lining the walls standing side by side with them, a little mixture of both of them.

Not that it was possible. In reality, they’d be looking at one or the other if they opted for a surrogate. Or adoption, in which case the child might not be much like either of them.

“We’d have to keep him from being too rowdy.” Maxie said. “And teach him not to play with Carvanha, like his simple minded fool of a father.” Archie flicked his leg at that comment.

“ _And_  teach ‘em not to be a smartass like ‘is other dad, hm?” Archie said with a smirk. “We could show him all the best Pokemon battle moves. I could take ‘im out to sea with me sometimes, show him all the little crevices I used to hide in…”

Maxie snorted. The image of the little boy in the bandanna joining Archie in one of many dozens of trips popped up in his mind. He imagined them coming home, tracking sand everywhere. He imagined an ever-growing collection of beach glass on the table. Late night sessions of sports on the television, Archie replaying every single episode of Hoenn Rangers Coexistence Squad…

“What if it’s a girl?” he said suddenly, as if the thought just occured to him.

“Arceus above.” Archie looked up at him. “She’d pick up on everythin’ ya said and sass me right out of everything!” He laughed. “Can ya imagine birthdays? The two of ya would end up gangin’ up on me for cake. School dances, Pokemon battles…She’d probably destroy any guy in school for first place in science fairs, too.”

“That’s assuming she takes after me.” Maxie said. He sat up on the bunk, ducking to fit. It was entirely too short for him.

“Why not?” Archie said, shrugging. “I can see the two of ya bonding right from the start.”

Maxie glanced away toward the window and played with the ends of his hair. It was hard for him to see himself bonding with any children, really. But maybe a little girl in a bandanna, one who looked not so different from younger Archie, would want to actively spend time on his lap reading with him. Maybe they’d find that they were both interested in the land around them, Mt. Chimney, Groudon…

Groudon. He shook his head. No, not a good idea to think about that now. They’d worry about that later.

“You’ve really given this a lot of thought, haven’t you?” Maxie said. “To all of this.”

Archie nodded. “Family’s important to me, Max. Real important.” he said. “I probably spend a bit too much time thinkin’ about it.”

The tiny Sharpedo plush went flying into the air as Archie tossed it up, watched it fall into his lap, and then gently tossed it up again. Maxie’s eyes followed it. Then they trailed away to the background, to the old framed pictures on the walls of the boy in the bandanna holding fish Pokemon in his hands with a grin, to the boy standing next to the Jirachi, to the little boy running along Slateport’s beach.

Maybe they could handle it. Maybe  _he_  could handle it. With Archie around, that was probably a guarantee. And it was hard to deny that there was something compelling about the thought of him and Archie towing a tiny figure in a sun hat between them.

He inhaled slowly and then exhaled.

“Okay.”

Archie stopped tossing the Sharpedo.

“…Okay?”

Maxie looked down at him. Archie seemed confused. He hid a smile behind his knees. “You heard me correctly.” he said. “What do your thoughts say comes next?”

The look on Archie’s face was priceless.


End file.
